David Shams
@davidshamswriter.bsky.social
Iranian-American expat chronicling what it means to belong everywhere and nowhere. My debut novel, A Thousand Touches, arrives this October.
When you look at your hometown from thousands of miles away, the edges blur, leaving only the sharpest emotional truths. If you want an honest look at identity, grab my free Beijing flash fiction and join my Substack. davidshams.substack.com #AuthorIdentity #ExpatLife
Turns out G.K. Chesterton's 1909 take on Thackeray helped explain my book title. Wrote up the whole strange path to A Thousand Touches, out this October — davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #DebutNovel #iranianAmerican
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
davidshams.substack.com
I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.
My debut novel, A Thousand Touches, comes out in October. An Iranian American kid. A Bourbon dynasty. A State Championship soccer season. A love story with a built-in countdown clock. Follow along here as it comes together. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
"One was, and one was not." That's how Persian fairy tales begin. It's also the epigraph of my debut novel. Wrote an essay on why: davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #DiasporaLit #DebutAuthor
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
davidshams.substack.com
New essay: why I wrote a novel about growing up Iranian-American in a Kentucky bourbon town. Soccer, silence, and a Persian phrase that explains more than I expected it to. davidshams.substack.com/p/a-thousand-touches-writing-my-way #debutnovel #IranianAmerican
A Thousand Touches: Writing My Way Through the Hyphen
Local enough that everyone knew us. Foreign enough that no one quite knew what to do with us. That's what it meant to grow up in Bardstown, Kentucky — and it's why I wrote a novel about it.
davidshams.substack.com
In Bardstown, bourbon isn't a cocktail ingredient—it's history, lineage, and currency. A Thousand Touches hits shelves this October. #BookSky #Bardstown #Bourbon #SouthernFiction #DiasporaLit
This is all a crazy effort to rewrite the past, yes. But what's really terrifying is hearing these people tell us how badly they're going to fuck up the *next* pandemic they're now creating without that nerd Fauci holding them back.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Peter Navarro: "I had a million doses of hydroxychloroquine in warehouses as the defense policy coordinator that I was trying to distribute to hospitals. And Fauci got the FDA stop me from doing that."
In my household, we switch between 'Baba' and 'Dad' effortlessly. My Substack, Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat, is where I often explore cross-cultural nuances. Plus, you get two free stories from my time in Beijing right away. ☕✨ davidshams.substack.com #PersianHeritage #BookSky
Before my series on why I wrote A Thousand Touches, here's a brief about me. #AThousandTouches #DebutAuthor #IranianAmerican #DiasporaLit #NewBookAlert
Step into Garnis Martin Field. A Thousand Touches brings the high-pressure world of elite athletics to life. Drops this October. 🏟️ www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t... #SportsFiction #SoccerLife #AtmosphericFiction #IndiePublishing #ComingOfAgeFiction
I hate that baseball commentary is trying to convince me that baseball is better when I am wagering money on its outcomes. Fuck that noise. Get that shit out of sports.
It is genuinely bizarre that we’ve become acclimatized to right wingers throwing a tantrum every time a black person (particularly a black woman) is cast in something, but are also supposed to pretend that this is not racism but related to some other substantive concern.
There's an unspoken language of survival among first-gen siblings. My novel was inspired, in part, by the shared experience my siblings and I had in rural Kentucky. #SiblingGoals #FirstGenProblems #FamilyDynamics #BookCharacters #AThousandTouches www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
Writing about my roots in Kentucky while navigating life on the other side of the globe means a constant barrage of potential content. Sign up for my Substack, Dispatches from an Iranian American Expat, for your free copy of my small collection of Beijing flash fiction. davidshams.substack.com
Beneath the pristine suits and layers of Polo Ralph Lauren cologne is a man running from the ghosts of the Iranian Revolution. A Thousand Touches drops this October. #ImmigrantStories #FictionWriters #OctoberBooks #BookSky www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
Moved to Beijing, expecting bad beer. Found IPAs that beat half of what's on shelves back home. Despite all that, consumer tastes meant that imported crafts from the US and Australia were still preferred. Wrote about my experience drinking my way through Beijing's Craft Beer Scene. 🍺 #craftbeer
China’s Craft Beer Is Great. So Why Does Everyone Still Want American IPAs?
I moved to Beijing expecting bad beer. I found IPAs that beat half of what's on shelves in the US — and a market that still won't believe it. 🍺
davidshams.substack.com
"We hung on because we wanted to cherish every moment we had together...One last moment before it was nothing but a memory." A terminal summer romance. A state title. The clock ticking to zero. A Thousand Touches is coming in October. #booksky #OctoberRelease #DiasporaLit #SouthernLit
From WWI ignition points to 1984 Olympic bobsled tracks turned graffiti playgrounds—Sarajevo is a wild canvas of the 20th century. New visual narrative is up on my newsletter. #History #VisualArts davidshams.substack.com/p/carrying-t...
Writing A Thousand Touches made me look back at the complicated tapestry of my own life as an Iranian American growing up in rural Kentucky. And in many ways, the novel's protagonist, Cyrus, was born out of trying to sort what it meant. #IndieAuthor
What I’m truly drawn to are liminal spaces—communities emerging from a tragic past, searching for their own path to renewal, staring history directly in the face, completely unflinching. Notes on a summer trip to Bosnia #Sarajevo #TravelWriting #Balkans #Substack #LiminalSpaces
"You see that city? That is Valter"
Notes from Sarajevo on national myths, generational resilience, and finding beauty in the world's liminal spaces.
davidshams.substack.com
"Nostalgia always did funny things to people who want to forget." A story about the heavy, unsaid trauma that diaspora families carry down through generations. Join the journey to publication at the link below. www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t... #DiasporaLit #FirstGenAmerican #Booksky
"You see that city? That is Valter." Tying a classic Yugoslav film myth to the glittering, resilient reality of modern Bosnia. My definitive Sarajevo photo essay is live. Drop a comment with your thoughts! #Photography #Newsletter
Carrying the Past in Modern Sarajevo
A visual testament to a city carrying the weight of yesterday while unflinchingly charting its path toward renewal.
davidshams.substack.com
Sarajevo is much more than the ghosts of its past. It's a masterclass in liminality—a community emerging from tragedy to build a reimagined future. Check out my new 9-image photo essay on Substack. #Travel #Photography
Carrying the Past in Modern Sarajevo
A visual testament to a city carrying the weight of yesterday while unflinchingly charting its path toward renewal.
davidshams.substack.com
In a small town where family history is carried around like a sidearm, a simple cross-town rivalry can turn deeply tribal in a heartbeat. A Thousand Touches drops this October. #SoccerFiction #BookSky #SportsDrama #ComingofAge www.davidshamswriter.com/a-thousand-t...
They say writing helps with homesickness. I wrote flash fiction to process my time in Beijing, and a novel while there to salvage my past. Grab two free pieces of my Beijing flash fiction entirely for free when you sign up for my newsletter. #ExpatLife #DiasporaLiterature #CreativeWriting
A Thousand Touches — David Shams
Check out my substack!
davidshamswriter.com
If I close my eyes, I can still smell it. The heavy summer humidity cutting through the sharp, yeasty scent of the angel’s share. Writing A Thousand Touches from across an ocean was the only way to bring those country roads back to life. Coming this October. 🥃⚽ #AThousandTouches #BookSky
Beyond thrilled to share the cover for A Thousand Touches with you all. A big step in this novel's journey. Pre-order info and release dates are on the horizon. Thanks for being part of the process! #AThousandTouches #NewBook #DavidShams #BookishFeed
